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Health benefits of a good night’s sleep are aplenty, but some don’t sleep sound no matter how hard they try. They’re found snoozing at work or yawning during meetings and overall just too tired during the day. On the other hand there are those who admit to falling asleep within 5 minutes of hitting the sack.

Obviously they must be doing something right which allows them to enjoy a good 8-hours of shut-eye and wake up fresh every morning, right? Well for starters they eat a varied, healthy diet. You too can tweak yours to sleep better.

Fish

Other than being rich in omega-fatty acids, fish like tuna, salmon, habilut boast of helping people sleep well. They are rich in water-soluble vitamin B6 that helps make a sleep-inducing hormone, melatonin. Other foods high in B6 include pistachio nuts. Additional benefits of having foods high in B6 is keeps your heart healthy. Why not enjoy both benefits?

Almonds

Grab a handful nuts and get to sleep in no time. It’s no secret that they keep us from our junk cravings if we binge on them. But then they have an amino acid called tryptophan and also magnesium, both of which help relax our muscles and induce sleep by producing melatonin. Next time you’re tossing and turning in bed head straight to these comfort nuts and sleep like a baby.

Honey

According to an article published in Daily Health Post, honey promotes sleep in two ways: a) it keeps liver full otherwise a depleted liver releases stress hormones that keeps us alert and awake and b) by releasing sleep hormone i.e. melatonin. Honey spikes insulin level in blood with stimulates the release of tryptophan in the brain after which tryptophan gets converted to serotonin and finally melatonin. Just make sure you don’t overdo it. One tablespoon should be enough.

Bananas

Go bananas! High in potassium, that calm our muscles and also prevent for those of you who get night time leg cramps. In addition, magnesium in it makes melatonin which makes us sleep the night. Either have a banana with nothing or you can eat it with low-fat yoghurt and get ready for a good slumber. If you’re ready to work hard then get up and prepare a smoothie!

Whole grains

By now you must have understood how important magnesium is for sleep. Load up on whole grains like couscous, barley and buckwheat for they are magnesium-laden. Have a toast to sedate your brain. Complex carbs present in it slowly increases insulin level that helps tryptophan to enter the brain and trigger the production of serotonin hormone. Another benefit is that unlike refined grains it doesn’t spike sugar levels.

Chickpeas

A good source of tryptophan, miracle legumes chickpeas are good to get sleep back in your life. They can be eaten in curry form or crushed to make a hummus dip. Have it with whole-grain crackers or pita bread. It’s a brilliant anytime snack.

Now you don’t need to dread night time or get anxious overthinking on how to put yourself to sleep. Just make minor additions to your diet and wake up rejuvenated.